An in-depth look at the legacy of Roe v. Wade, and on-the-ground reporting from the front lines of the battle to protect the right to choose
The pieces started to fall In 2019 when a wave of anti-abortion laws went into effect. Georgia, Ohio, Mississippi, Louisiana and Kentucky banned abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, while Missouri banned the procedure at eight weeks. Alabama banned all abortions. The die was cast. And on May 2, 2022, a 98-page draft opinion was leaked that strikes down the fifty-year-old Roe v. Wade decision that established abortion as a constitutional right. When this decision goes into effect, abortion will immediately become illegal in 22 states.
No Choice begins by shining a light on the eerie ways in which life before Roe will be mirrored in life after. The wealthy and privileged will still have access, low-income people will suffer disproportionately, and pregnancy will be heavily policed. Then, Andrews takes us to the states and communities that have been hardest-hit by the erosion of abortion rights in this country, and tells the stories of those who are most at risk from this devastating reversal of settled law. There is a glimmer of faint hope, though.
As the battle moves to state legislatures around the country, the book profiles the people who are doing groundbreaking, inspiring work to ensure safe, legal access to this fundamental part of health care.
Becca Andrews is a journalist at Mother Jones, where she writes about reproductive rights and gender. She is a graduate of UC Berkeley's School of Journalism, before attending school there, she wrote for newspapers in her home state of Tennessee.
